Garments can become wrinkled from folding or packing and then storing the garment in a drawer, on a shelf or in a suitcase. Garments can also acquire unpleasant odors from exposure to body odor, mildew, mold or other contaminating exposures. Travelers are especially burdened with these problems as they are forced to either wear wrinkled clothes or take time to iron or hand steam the garments after unpacking. On long trips, odors may further build up when reusing clothes. In this situation the traveler has to take time to wash, iron, steam or refreshen the clothes. Packing devices that perform these tasks or finding access to them at the point of travel adds another level of hassle and planning. Even if these devices are readily available, they create their own set of problems.
For example, the use of an iron is very labor intensive when trying to remove wrinkles. The iron must be repeatedly pressed over a wrinkle in a garment using pressure and possibly steam from the iron to remove the wrinkle. The operator must make contact with all surface areas of the garment from which to remove the wrinkles. Often the process of removing a wrinkle will create a new crease in a layer below the layer being worked on. Irons are very hot and known to start fires when left unattended. Irons require the use of heat resistant surfaces such as an ironing board that is capable of holding the garment and withstanding the heat of the iron. Irons are also prone to building up lime deposits on heated surfaces or heating elements requiring maintenance, repair costs or the purchase of a new iron.
Handheld steamers are similar to irons in that the operator must maneuver garments into position to be contacted by the emitted steam in order to remove the wrinkles. This process requires all wrinkled surfaces of the garment to be treated by the operator requiring a great deal of labor and time. Handheld steamers typically get very hot and can also build up lime deposits requiring maintenance and cost. Wand-held steamers can become uncomfortable to hold due to the heat from the steam generating elements and the steam itself.
The present application improves upon the current state of the art wrinkle removing and refreshing appliances to provide a new apparatus that combines wrinkle removing and refreshening into one simple apparatus that requires minimal effort and time of the user.